WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD, FELLERS!
By Robert Evans
Saturday, June 17th, 2006 at 7:04 pm in General.
I watched (happily) the telecast of the tense and exciting Italy/USA game today, and listened (unhappily) to the bleatings of the team of commentators—Alexi Lalas, Eric Wynalda, Marcelo Balboa—about some of the refereeing decisions. Yes, I know that Dave O’Brien was there, too, but in my opinion he doesn’t qualify as a commentator on soccer, and certainly not as a pundit (Learned Teacher).
What bothered me more than anything about their commentating was not the obvious chauvinism, for the three of them have made no secret that they were supporting the U.S., but the fact that they were wrong, simply wrong. And since they are well-known retired professional and national team players, their words can have an influence upon many, many young and impressionable soccer players. You don’t spread worthwhile knowledge by having the ignorant teach the naïve.
Let’s take four decisions: the three sendings-off and the disallowed goal by Beasley. And in order to keep you reading, let me say at the start that in my opinion, all four were correct.
Everyone seemed to agree that the young Italian De Rossi deserved to be dismissed after his elbow split and bloodied McBride’s face, and as I saw it, the foul was a deliberate act. But even if the contact had been entirely accidental, he would have been sent off, because FIFA has decreed time and again that they are trying to eliminate from the game any contact with the elbow. So a careless act, a reckless act or a deliberate act involving the elbow should get an expulsion. The difference would be in the punishment the player gets, for a deliberate act might get more than one game suspension. We’ll see. But none of the “commentators” mentioned any of this, during the game or after.
In the final minute of the first half, the referee evened things up by sending off Mastroeni of the U.S. for a challenge on Pirlo. That’s what the commentators thought: a “pay back” call. I’ve never known a referee make a call to even things up, but I do know that some players talk about it. But let’s look at the foul, and see what a nonsense the commentators put about.
Mastroeni went in for the challenge and got there late. When he made contact with (that’s polite talk for kicked) Pirlo, the ball was 5-6 feet away, Mastroeni’s studs were exposed and they caught the Italian just above the ankle. If you think that such a foul is not worthy of a sending-off, what on Earth is? Mastroeni knew he was not going to get to the ball first or at the same time as Pirlo; that’s one of the first skills you learn in competitive soccer. He chose to keep going, and he was rightly punished for the foul.
Not three minutes into the second half, a rather worn red card was raised in the air again to let us know that Eddie Pope was leaving, for a foul from behind on Gilardinho. Was it worth only a yellow? Not in my book, but that’s not the point. Pope already had a caution for clobbering an opponent earlier. The first caution was a statement to him that he would not go unpunished for something similar. It was an official warning about his conduct! Now Balboa thought that the referee should have talked to him and tell him to knock it off. But Marcelo, my boy, the referee did that when he gave Pope the yellow card in the first half. ‘Nuff said.
And finally the goal disallowed after DaMarcus Beasley drove the ball into the net. The description from The Independent in England is objective, accurate, succinct, in other words, right on. “DaMarcus Beasley actually had the ball in the net with a fine angled drive, but McBride was in an offside position, right in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.” Balboa got this one right, but Bruce Arena yelled out: “That’s impossible!” Although he still shouts and gesticulates about decisions, he has learned, after being sent off in international matches in the past, to temper his remarks and behavior.
I’ll have more to say about commentaries, and I’ll have more to say about why the commentators get things wrong, and why players do the foolish things they did today. But in the meantime, I’m happy to say that a referee did what he was supposed to do, without fear or favor. I must disagree again with today’s commentators, for I believe he will have another game in this World Cup.
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June 18th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Wow! You are right on 2 of the 4 occasions. The first and the last.
Mastroeni tackle was late, studs down, and hit the Itillan in the foot (look at the slow speed replay on the DVR). However, does it deserver a Red Card. Look at the referees experssion, to determine the referees decision making. Its a snap reaction to the foul, not thought out. If he had thought about it, he may have awarded a yellow.
As for the card on Pope, the first yellow was against pope for pulling the shirt against the Itillan player, however on replay you can clearly see that both players were pulling shirts. Proper positioning on the field would allow the referee to see this. No card deserved here. One could argue that the card was a message to the US Team for all the fouls. The second yellow card was deserverd, but since he already had given one as a message to the US team, then he should not card here as this would unfailly put the US team down a player.
That second yellow was the momement of truth for this referee, and he failed. I could point out many other “moment of truth” situations during this game, and he would have failed most of them.
At the end of tha day the referee needs to look into the mirror and ask himself if he affected the outcome of this game. If its a no, then he did a good job. if its a yes, then he could have done better. I think the referee would have to say yes in for this game.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:30 am
You’re one of the few accurate voices among those who watched USA-Italy on US network TV. It’s a pity that the commentators don’t recognize when a referee rises above the already high World Cup standard. I try to be impartial and analytical about refereeing, and I thought Jorge Larrionda met the significant challenge of refereeing between two teams that differed so strongly in skill and ability, experience, attitude and tournament standing. Larrionda’s firm hand kept the game from being a melee, and instead made the players produce one of the most exciting matches of the tournament.
I’ll bet that Larrionda will get another game appointment. In an interview, he mentioned getting some positive feedback from the chairman of the FIFA Referee Committee (which selects the refs). In addition, FIFA took the unusual step of having its communications director make a press statement to back up the referees’ use of cautions and send-offs.
Unfortunately, if and when Jorge Larrionda takes the field again, the TV commentators’ ignorant and intemperate remarks will have already lessened Larrionda’s credibility and authority with the fans, reducing their ability to understand and enjoy the spectacle.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
In light of the upcoming World Cup match between the Ghana and U.S. teams, I thought you and your readers may be interested in the involvement of Robert Sackey, who was born in Ghana and has resided in El Cerrito, California for several years. Mr. Sackey is an experienced soccer coach (USSF “A” license) and is scouting the U.S. team on behalf of Ghana.
As noted in Chris Courtney’s column on March 28, 2006 in SoccerTimes (www.soccerTimes.com), Robert Sackey coaches the San Francisco Nighthawks of the WPSL(the Nighthawks manager is Jill Lounsbury, 415-661-1942). The Ghana FA engaged him earlier this year to assist in preparation for the World Cup finals, including scouting the U.S. team and the Mexico team, which Ghana recently faced in a friendly. Mr. Sackey is currently working with the Ghana head coach, Ratomir Djkovic and can be reached at the hotel where the team is staying in Germany. His email address is Sackey9@aol.com.
In addition to coaching the Nighthawks, Robert Sackey is Technical and Coaching Director for the ACC Mavericks, a youth soccer program based in Berkeley. The Mavericks president, Lonnie Nelson (510-407-1263; lonnien27@aol.com), has worked with Mr. Sackey for five years and can provide insight into Mr. Sackey’s coaching skills.
Among other things, Robert Sackey will be arranging friendly matches between the Ghana Women’s national team (the “Black Queens”) and women’s teams in the Bay Area (including the University of California, Davis team) in the second half of August and the first half of September 2006. Mr. Sackey helped the Black Queens with technical training in the 2003 Women’s World Cup.
If you would like any additional information, please let me know (I have assisted Lonnie Nelson on the Mavericks board and have worked with Mr. Sackey on youth soccer matters since 2001).
Thank you,
Mark White
June 19th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
No doubt Mastroeni fouled; he was late and missed the ball. He had a chance for a good play, but was too slow. His studs were down, not up. How in the world can rwo refs see this so differently?
Attitude, that’s how.